Clean Energy, Dirty Money: Green corruption in review

"Hope & Change"…and Saving the Planet

Barack Obama's original 2008 presidential campaign of “Hope and Change,” masterminded by campaign manager David Plouffe and chief strategist David Axelrod, was a triumph messaging, which quickly gathered immense attraction across our nation and abroad.

Part of Obama’s change crusade included slamming Wall Street at every turn, especially during his first term, labeling them as “fat-cat bankers,” who don’t follow the rules. In fact, President Obama proclaimed in a December 13, 2009 60-Minutes interview, "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street…" 



While the majority of Americans were mesmerized by his messaging, along with the left-wing media's "thrill up their leg" –– glorifying him to sainthood even –– by late 2009, Matt Taibbi, liberal writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, laid out a compelling case on how Obama sold out to Wall Street: "Obama's Big Sellout." "Barack Obama ran for president as a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street as the global economy melted down in that fateful fall of 2008." The Obama inspiration came from the "sense that a genuine outsider was finally breaking into an exclusive club, and they were voting for 'change,'” were some of the words Taibbi penned regarding then-Senator Barack Obama’s rise to power.

Needless to say, Taibbi seemed shocked, documenting that it all began after Obama was elected in 2008: "What's taken place in the year since Obama won the presidency has turned out to be one of the most dramatic political about-faces in our history." Later Taibbi asks the question, "How did we get here?" He then answers, "It started just moments after the election –– and nobody noticed." 



Outsider? 



Quite the contrary, because Obama arrived on the scene with his fair share of Wall Street buddies, which in fact helped ensure his presidential victory in 2008 –– with many again in 2012 –– poring millions of dollars into his campaign coffers, making their mark as TOP campaign donors, with even Wall Street executives bundling huge sums of money for Obama. There were many of the too-big-to-fail banks (you know the ones that we, the taxpayer, bailed out) that made this special donor list: Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley. Further down the line you'll find Bank of America, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch –– the latter two indirectly, and so on. Meanwhile, many of the executives running these enormous failures, were not only handed big bonuses, but Obama  rewarded them and his big bundlers with "jobs, commissions, stimulus money, government contracts, and more"  –– with Wall Street given key positions inside the White House and also tapping into the "green" funds.

Wall Street was not the only big backer of Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential bids. Besides having the usual (and expected) environmentalists and left-wing organizations in his back pocket, there were Big Venture Capitalists, Big Left-wing Money, Big Energy, and Big Oil, all bundling for, and donating to his campaign  –– with each snagging their fare share of money from President Obama's “save the planet slush fund.”

Save the Planet Slush Fund

"America, this is our moment…the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal," candidate Obama declared in a June 8, 2008 speech.

Furthermore, not only did the "candidate of hope and change" pledge to do the miraculous, Senator Obama, during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, vowed to save the planet: 

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stopgap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close. As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies retool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of bio-fuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.


Shortly after President Obama began his reign as our 44th president, in February 2009, he signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This was a massive economic stimulus bill –– among the biggest in history and the number one lobbied piece of legislation since 2005 –– that was sold to the American people as a means save our economy from the brink of disaster and create American jobs.

By the beginning of 2012, revelations revealed the real intent behind Obama's trillion-dollar spending spree ("walking around money"): it was “a key tool for advancing the Obama administration’s clean-energy goals and fulfilling a number of campaign commitments.” In fact, the 2009-Stimulus package was jammed-packed full of clean-energy provisions, of which about 10 percent of the monies were earmarked for renewable energy.

It's important to point out that the $100 billion in stimulus funds is not the only money being used to fuel the Obama administration's efforts to save the planet; it's closer to $150 billion and counting, because they continue to dole out more –– and all at at time when we are drowning in debt. A March 2012 report by the Brookings Institute places the Obama administrations' "total government spending (both stimulus and non-stimulus) on green initiatives at $150 billion through 2014." And what did we, the taxpayer, get out of the deal? Billions wasted, increased debt, outsourcing clean-energy money and green jobs to other countries, as well as massive amounts of corporate welfare, cronyism, and corruption.

The most controversial has been the Department of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program, which comprises of Section 1703, Section 1705, and Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM). While both Section 1703 and the ATVM programs were established during the Bush administration, Section 1705 was created by the 2009-Recovery Act that included $16 billion in lending power. Thus far the DOE has guaranteed $34.7 billion of taxpayer money, and even though the 1705 has expired, there are reports that “the department still has about $50 billion left that could be lent, with a large chunk earmarked for nuclear projects.”

This is the same Energy Department program which the Green Corruption Files has exposed over and over how at least 90 percent of the loan winners have meaningful politically connections to the president and other high-ranking Democrats –– in many cases to both, with Majority Leader Harry Reid tied to five (a bombshell report we released last month). It also brought you the big alternative energy losers such as Solyndra, Beacon Power, Abound Solar, Fisker Automotive, and Vehicle Production Group, flushing millions of tax dollars down the eco-toilet. With SoloPower, Nevada Geothermal and others in the shadows, and quite a few DOE clean-energy projects at risk –– AREVA and its $2 billion, Georgia Power Company and its $8.33 billion –– there are billions more still hanging on the edge.

Also, many of these same companies that were funded with DOE loans, also won free taxpayer cash from one of the biggest stimulus scams: the 1603 Treasury Program, which has to date given out $19,349,675,402. This is another part of the scandal that we've been tracking that also includes numerous favored clean-energy projects. The real shock came at the end of 2102 when we learned from the Energy and Commerce Committee's “in-depth report on its ongoing investigation into the implementation of President Obama’s green energy stimulus spending,” which exposed the fact that “foreign corporations have received approximately one-quarter of $16 billion spent on 'Section 1603' renewable energy stimulus program.”

Last fall, and since, we've debunked the president's 5 million green jobs campaign promise. Worse, the Obama administration has shipped green jobs overseas, and from the beginning, the Department of Energy has exaggerated and/or manipulated the number of green jobs created, calculating saved, indirect, direct, and "touching lives" in the mix –– along with the Obama administration’s labor department counting oil lobbyists, sanitation engineers, school bus drivers, bicycle repair shop clerks, and so on, as as green jobs.

In May 8, 2013, a report by the Institute for Energy Research (IER) gave us insight into the DOE's dismal reality on green jobs: "the Department of Energy has spent nearly $26 billion since 2009 on its Section 1703 and 1705 loan programs. However, these two programs only yielded 2,308 permanent jobs — meaning the cost to taxpayers was $11.25 million per job," recorded the Daily Caller.

As you will discover throughout our work, the DOE loan program is not the only vehicle used to transport taxpayer funds toward alternative energy. There are numerous ways, which includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Biorefinery Assistance Program that along with the DOE, used billions of taxpayer money to fund risky biofuel projects that were "not so shovel-ready" –– yet as usual, the majority had significant political connections. There are smaller grant programs like the ARPA-E and the SunShot Initiative. Throw in the Clean Energy R&D, where "$2.5 billion went for applied research, development, demonstration and deployment activities at the Energy Department’s Office of EERE," of which a huge chunk was designated for biomass energy projects and geothermal projects.

There were additional stimulus funds that were appropriated to the Energy Department, which includes $11 billion for Grid Modernization; the $5 billion Home Weatherization Program; the $6 billion Nuclear Waste Clean Up as well as $3.4 billion for carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects; $2 billion for research into batteries for electric cars; $500 million for Green Jobs Training; and funds that went to various state energy programs.

Did you know that there is a "Green War" being waged? Yep, the Department of Defense has launched more green energy initiatives than any other federal agency and many are duplicative and wasteful," as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.

Another means where huge corporations and Obama's green buddies get taxpayer money is through the taxpayer-supported Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im), who "has a Congressional mandate to support renewable energy and has been directed that 10% of its authorizations should be dedicated to renewable energy and environmentally beneficial transactions."

Clean Energy; Dirty Money 

What happened during President Obama’s first term –– and is continuing into his second –– is the focus of Clean Energy; Dirty Money: How the Obama administration hijacked our environment and doled out tens of billions of our tax dollars to payback his political cronies –– "green" bundlers, top donors, financiers, and allies –– catapulting crony capitalism to a staggering level, while fueling corporate welfare and corruption.

Hope and change were still alive in 2012, but this time in the president’s “forward” message, fear was added as its running mate. The president described 2012 as a "make-or-break moment for America's middle class," before incorporating the theme of moving "forward." 

"We've got to move forward, to the future that we imagined in 2008. We've got to move forward to that future where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules," President Obama hyped. 


Again, during his re-election bid, President Obama had promised that climate change would be a priority in his second term –– a term he began with more scare tactics, proclaiming that the failure to tackle climate change, “would betray our children and future generations.”

But it wasn't until June of 2013 that the president unleashed his new climate agenda; however, prior to and since that time, his administration has continually fired up new climate legislation, regulations and mandates, which benefits special interest groups while adversely affecting American families. And, like the Affordable Care Act taking over our entire health care industry, will in essence, under the guise of "saving the planet," dominate our most valuable resource –– energy. The National Review took notice of "Obama's radical climate agenda," which by the way circumvents Congress, alarming that "the president announced that, on behalf of 'all of humankind,' he is in effect directing the EPA to take over the American economy." Reason.com, too, sees the dire reality here: "Obama’s plan ambitiously seeks to control nearly every aspect of how Americans produce and consume energy."

Last but not least, the president's Climate Action Plan calls for releasing more taxpayer money –– thus once again funding the Green Bank of Obama. “This time, though, the [DOE loan] program would devote as much as $8 billion to helping industries like coal and oil make cleaner energy,” wrote the New York Times. The Institute for Energy Research (IER) took aim at this part of the plan: "This proposal is nothing but window dressing to make it appear that the administration isn’t completely anti-coal. The new proposal would throw good money after bad."

As I was preparing this post, Energy Secretary Moniz via the Energy Department "released [that] $8 billion solicitation for advanced fossil energy projects."  They expect to receive the initial applications by the end of February 2014.

This month, the Energy Department, through the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program (48C Program), which is also part of the president's Climate Action Plan, announced "$150 million in clean-energy tax credits to build U.S. capabilities in clean energy manufacturing. The credits will go towards investments in domestic manufacturing equipment by 12 businesses."

Last August, it was reported that "Senior officials from the Department of Energy have signaled the Obama administration is ready to restart" the ATVM program (explained earlier). This is part   the Energy Department's loan power, of which if we go back in time, around June 2009, we find that the DOE starting funding electric cars. Needless to say, this program drew over 100 applicants, but only the "FAVORED FIVE" were granted ATVM loans, totaling $8.4 billion –– igniting red flags, spurring on lawsuits, bursting with electric issues, and thus far two have slipped into the abyss: Fisker Automotive ($529 million) and Vehicle Production Group ($50 million). Yet the Energy Department deems the ATVM loan program a success, however, others, in analyzing the facts, see that Obama's electric vehicle loan program as a "failure."

Follow the Money 

Since late 2009, we've been following the "green" money and connecting the dots –– money that not only led to plenty of fraud, waste, and mismanagement, but also abuse, cronyism, corruption, and failure. Today's post will provide you with a breakdown of where we started, how far we've come, and what's left to expose. The Green Corruption Files has unleashed a treasure trove of evidence that stems from over three years of extensive research; House Oversight reports, hearings and internal emails; Inspector General reports, whistle-blower Intel; as well as Peter Schweizer's bombshell bestseller, Throw Them All Out and various publications covering the topic –– proving that cronyism and corruption are the driving forces behind the Obama administration's clean-energy (climate change) agenda.

Green Corruption began in 2010 at Blogcritics Magazine 

1. Obama’s Political Payback: Green Corruption, Part One first published @ Blogcritics Magazine July 19, 2010; then posted @ The Green Corruption Files April 28, 2012) 
2. Obama’s Political Payback: Green Corruption, Part Two (first published @ Blogcritics Magazine July 20, 2010; then posted @ The Green Corruption Files April 28, 2012)
3. Green Corruption: The Plot Thickens (first published @ Blogcritics Magazine August 7, 2010; then posted at @ the The Green Corruption Files April 28, 2012) 

The Green Corruption Files: 2012 with 23 Posts

1. Green Corruption: Department of Energy “Junk Loans” and Cronyism (first published @ Blogcritics Magazine on April 17, 2012, then posted Saturday, April 28, 2012 –– also at EPA Abuse on May 1, 2012, California Political News and Views on May 5, 2012, and many other Conservative sites) 
2.  BREAKING: BrightSource Energy Political Influence and Their $1.6 Billion DOE Loan (posted Wednesday, May 16, 2012)
3.  BREAKING: NRG Energy on the DOE Cronyism Hot Seat, Also Tied to George Soros (posted Tuesday, May 22, 2012)
4. Lou Dobbs "Shocks" Bill O'Reilly on the Severity of Obama DOE Crony Capitalism (posted Friday, May 25, 2012) 
5. Obama-Tied Troubled First Solar $3 Billion DOE Loans Produce Majority of Jobs Oversees, CEO Sold His Own Stock; Plus More "Clean-Energy Dirt" Exposed (posted Monday, June 11, 2012) 
6. Obama’s Green-Energy, Crony-Corruption Story; Special Seven, Part 1 Expanded Version (posted Saturday, June 30, 2012)
7. Shining the Light on BrightSource Energy's $1.6 Billion Shady DOE Deal: Special Seven, Part Two (posted Friday, July 6, 2012)
8. General Electric Making “Bank” off Obama's “Green” Stimulus Money; Over $3 Billion and Counting (posted Thursday, July 12, 2012)
9. Senator Harry Reid’s Part in Green-Energy Crony-Corruption, Part Three of The Special Seven (posted Sunday, July 15, 2012)
10. The First Solar Three Billion Dollar Swindle (posted Wednesday, July 25, 2012)
11. Recent Oversight Hearing Reveals Shady Email Practices by Former DOE Loan Advisor Jonathan Silver; Abound Solar Blames China for its Demise (posted Thursday, July 26, 2012)
12. How Democrats Say "Crony Corruption" in Spanish: Abengoa UPDATED VERSION (posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012) 
13. Beacon Bust Tied to Obama Bundler and VP Hunter, the Infamous Washington Fixture, James A. Johnson (posted Wednesday, August 15, 2012)
14. NextEra Energy: Third Largest Power Company in the World is the Third Largest Recipient of DOE Risky Loans; CEO Sits on President Obama's Jobs Council (posted Saturday, August 18, 2012)
15. Obama’s Green Cronies Made DNC Cameo: Bundlers and Big Donors Tied to Billions of Stimulus Funds (posted Friday, September 21, 2012)
16. Special Report Part One: Obama, the Green Loser; Cronyism Inc. (posted Monday, October 15, 2012)
17. Special Report Part Two: Obama, the Green Loser; Cronyism Inc. (posted Monday, October 15, 2012) 
18. Where are the 5 Million Green Jobs Candidate Obama Promised? (posted Monday, October 15, 2012)
19. Green Alert: Tracking President Obama's Green Energy Failures (posted Saturday, October 20, 2012)
20. BREAKING: Newly Released House Oversight Emails Incriminate White House in Green-Energy Loan Lies (posted Thursday, November 1, 2012)
21. Busting Open Obama Energy Department's Den of Deception (posted Monday, November 5, 2012)
22. DEVELOPING: Department of Energy Facing "Corruption" Lawsuit, Shocking DOE Emails, and the $8.4 Billion ATVM Program's "Favored Five" (posted Friday, November 23, 2012)
23. The Green Five: Spreading the Wealth to Obama’s Ultra-Rich Jobs Council Members; Part One, 10/31/12 DOE Emails Prove White House Pressure on $1.3 Billion Loan to General Electric Wind Project (posted Sunday, December 23, 2012)

 

The Green Corruption Files: 2013 with 22 posts 

1. Tuesday, January 8, 2013 –– Bank of Obama: John Doerr and Al Gore of Kleiner Perkins, The Mother of All Green Energy Stimulus Money Winners
2. Monday, January 21, 2013 –– Climate Hawk Senator John Kerry and His Green Inside Deals
3. Tuesday, January 22, 2013 –– Big Wind Energy Subsidies: A Hurricane of Carnage, Cronyism and Corruption
4. Thursday, February 7, 2013 –– Obama's Jobs Council Closed: Mega-Rich Member Penny Pritzker "Rumored" for Commerce Job, “Related” to Two Large Green Corruption Stories 
5. Friday, February 22, 2013 –– Citigroup’s Massive 'Green' Money Machine 
6. Thursday, February 28, 2013 –– Wall Street Walks all over the Obama White House 
7. Friday, March 22, 2013 –– Left-wing Billionaire George Soros: Obama’s "Agent of Green"
8. Monday, April 1, 2013 –– SoloPower: Another Department of Energy “Junk Loan” Teetering with Over $250 Million of Taxpayer Money
9. Thursday, April 11, 2013 –– Newly Bankrupt Chinese Solar Producer Suntech, Stimulus Tax Credit Winner and Contractor to Energy Department’s $337 million Junk Loan: a Tiny Fraction of Obama’s “Green Outsourcing"
10. Wednesday, April 24, 2013 –– Failing Fisker Auto Finally Faces House Oversight Hearing: Chairman Jordan Exposes Another DOE Junk Loan, Declares, "Fisker should have never received taxpayer money”
11. Thursday, May 9, 2013 –– Americans Bothered By the Way our Government Spends Taxes: Billions Burned on Obama's Green Energy 
12. Wednesday, May 29, 2013 –– Smart Gird, Dirty Devices: With "friends" in the White House, Silver Spring Networks linked to at least $1.3 billion of smart-grid stimulus grants 
13. Monday, June 10, 2013 –– Transparency Alert: HHS, DOL, and EPA NOT the Only Agencies Where Top Obama Appointees are Using “Secret Emails” to Conduct Govt Business… What a bout the Energy Department?
14. Saturday, June 15, 2013 –– The Green Corruption Files Snags Special Gig on AACONS' Radio Broadcast
15. June 30, 2013 –– Nuclear Crimes and Misdemeanors
16. Saturday, July 13, 2013 –– Nuclear Disaster: $10.33 billion in energy loans pressured by the White House and POTUS approved, now at risk
17. Wednesday, July 24, 2013 –– Subsidizing Obama’s Algae: Its advisors and allies 
18. Monday, August 19, 2013 –– Billions of Obama biofuel bucks funded "not so shovel-ready" risky projects, fueled by more green corruption
19. Friday, September 13, 2013 –– Top D.C. Lobbyist McBee Strategic Consulting “opened the spigot of green corporate welfare;” then billions of stimulus cash flooded the firm’s energy clients
20. Saturday, September 28, 2013 –– Virginia Governor Dem Candidate Terry McAuliffe’s GreenTech Auto: small eco-car, big green scam?
21. Tuesday, October 15, 2013 –– The RAT in the Recovery and the Gang of Ten 
22. Saturday, November 16, 2013 –– Underneath Senator Harry Reid’s Clean-Energy Dirt: Career politician directly linked to over $3 billion in green energy stimulus loans

Marita Noon 23 Columns on the Green-Energy Crony-Corruption Scandal, which began in June 2012

1. Crony Capitalism and President Obama: How the System Really Works (originally published: 6/10/2012)
2. Obama’s Green-Energy Crony-Corruption (originally published: 6/29/2012)
3. More Obama Green Energy Corruption (originally published: 7/6/2012)
4. Senator Harry Reid’s Part in Green-Energy Crony-Corruption (originally published: 7/14/2012)
5. The First Solar Swindle (originally published: 7/21/2012)
6. How Democrats Say “Crony Corruption” in Spanish: Abengoa (originally published: 8/4/2012)
7. Third Largest Power Company in the World is the Third Largest Recipient of Risky Loans (originally published: 8/17/2012)
8. Obama Never Admits Green Energy Failures (originally published: 9/30/2012)
9. Romney to Obama: “You Pick the Losers” (originally published: 10/7/2012)
10. Obama’s Green Energy Jobs Promise: 355 Jobs and Counting (originally published: 10/14/2012)
11. Emails Catch White House Lie on Green-Energy Loans (originally published: 11/1/2012)
12. Busting Open Energy’s Den of Deception (originally published: 11/4/2012)
13. Exclusive: DOE Corruption—Appointed and Elected Officials Should Face Prison Time (originally published: 11/25/2012)
14. Inside Deals Mar John Kerry for State (originally published: 1/21/2013)
15. Wall Street Walks on The White House (originally published: 2/24/2013)  
16. Obama Creates More Wealth for Green Crony Soros (originally published: 3/31/13)
17. On Earth Day, Let’s Waste More Money (originally published 4/22/13)
18. Fisker: a free ride to make flashy cars in Finland (originally published 4/28/13)
19. A six-pack of scandals (originally published 5/19/13)
20. The dirty politics of “clean” energy (originally published 7/28/2013)
21. The Macker—deal maker, not a car maker (or even a job creator) (originally published 9/29/13)
22. Harry Reid's Personal Green Goldmine (originally published 12/9/13)
23. Obama Doctrine: Reward Friends, Punish Enemies (originally published 12/22/13)

About Us

Christine Lakatos

I'm the mother of two terrific daughters; an ACE Certified Fitness Trainer with over 30-years experience in the health and fitness industry; diet book author; and retired bodybuilder with many titles under my belt, including an American Gladiators contestant back in 1990.

The Green Corruption Files began as a result of my research that was prompted in 2009, and ultimately marked me as a contributor to the political book, Killing Wealth, Freeing Wealth How to Save America’s Economy and Your Own –– Authors; Lee Troxler and Floyd Brown, and released May 2010. Two months later, I coined the phrase in my three-part series entitled, "Obama’s Political Payback: Green Corruption," which was first published at Blogcritics Magazine. 

Since 2011, I proceeded with my political research, specifically in this area, for Dr. Jerome Corsi, World Net Daily senior staff reporter and as well as Peter Schweizer, the president of the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), whose work has been featured on 60-Minutes, and just about everywhere that counts –– both are New York Times bestselling authors of numerous books.

Just last month, Dr. Corsi, in his article, "U.N. milks 'warming' claim to spend half-trillion-plus: Despite evidence of bad science, failure of 'green' energy,'" cited my work...

Researcher Christine Lakatos has created a website, GreenCorruption.blogspot.com, dedicated to exposing Obama administration corruption in funding $150 billion in green initiatives from 2009 through 2014. The funding included both stimulus funds and non-stimulus funds, promoting ultimately failed green energy projects that were tied to prominent Democratic Party politicians and contributors.

My short stint with Schweizer began after the release of his bombshell book, Throw Them All Out, which devoted an entire chapter to this green energy scam: Chapter 5, "Spreading the Wealth...to Billionaires."

By the end of 2011, it became clear that green corruption was a massive scandal on many fronts: "the largest, most expensive and deceptive case of crony capitalism in American History." However, it wasn't until April 2012 that I launched my blog in order to unleash the entire scoop, which was  prompted by the March 2012 House Oversight report titled, The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Programs –– "a devastating indictment of the Obama administration’s 'green' energy cronyism." This not only validated my 2010 theory of corruption on the clean-energy front, it was the beginning of the realization of a  much broader scandal. So, with my subsequent research, I then went into high gear and released my first file entitled, Green Corruption: Department of Energy “Junk Loans” and Cronyism.

Just this month, the Reason Foundation released a study by Victor Nava and Julian Morris, "detailing the role political connections and lobbying played in securing [the DOE 1705 ] loans." Their Policy Brief, entitled "Stimulating Green Electric Dreams – Lobbying, Cronyism and Section 1705 Loan Guarantees," demonstrated that "the Department of Energy’s stimulus loans went to 'junk' grade investments and firms that spent the most lobbying."

While Reason's analysis focused on the lobbying efforts behind these loans (my 2012 examination was solely on the cronyism), "the report also highlights taxpayer-backed loans given to companies with ties to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, former Vice President Al Gore, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, and a company founded by former Maine Gov. Angus King, who is now a U.S. Senator," which included using our July 2012 work as a source –– only in two places, but it's still a big deal for us.  

“Ideally, the government would get out of the business of funding speculative energy projects like Solyndra,” said Victor Nava, co-author of the report and policy analyst at Reason Foundation.

Still, when the Solyndra bankruptcy story broke in September 2011 –– FBI raids, bundlers, DOE Advisors, "Fifth Amendment," and all –– most of the media ran with it, which carried on for a while. In fact, green energy cronyism was a hot topic during the 2012 election, even for the GOP, presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and many others, including conservative leaning commentators like Sean Hannity, who championed exposing this scandal.

Since the 2012 election has come and gone, most have dropped the ball on this important issue that impacts every American taxpayer and our energy uses. Not to mention that the president's clean-energy agenda has been used to fuel cronyism, corruption, and corporate welfare, while demonstrating how our government is run by Wall Street, special interests, Big Money, and in this particular case, Big Energy and Big Venture Capitalists –– all with friends in high places –– rather than what's good for our country.

The lack of attention to this green energy scam could be due to the fact that more gripping and deadly scandals have since emerged –– and even though they have swarmed the Obama White House for some time, most of them didn't heat up until 2013. Those include the Benghazi cover-up; the IRS profiling; the Department of Justice "secret surveillance" of reporters; and as of late, the lies behind ObamaCare.

Nevertheless, as fate would have it, in June 2012, Marita Noon, energy expert and columnist at Towhall.com, took the plunge. We immediately began our collaboration, which enabled my work to explode. What started as a regular American citizen expressing concern over how "green stimulus money was being used and abused," has turned into a mission: To expose one chunk of this Green Corruption scandal at a time.

In just a year's time, The Green Corruption Files went from a few hundred hits a month to 400 a day, to 4000 a month. Nineteen months later, we hit over 100,000 page views, and now we are well over 103,000. Today will be my 49th post, meanwhile, Marita has tackled 22 columns on this scandal, which is a direct result of my research, yet with a special touch and an occasional twist –– plus a much more diverse and expansive platform. 

Marita Noon is the executive director for Energy Makes America Great Inc. and the companion educational organization, the Citizens’ Alliance for Responsible Energy (CARE). Together they work to educate the public and influence policy makers regarding energy, its role in freedom, and the American way of life. Combining energy, news, politics, and the environment through public events, speaking engagements, and media, the organizations’ combined efforts have made Marita “America’s voice for energy.” Marita is also a columnist for Townhall.com and a regular contributor to The Heartland Institute, The Energy Tribune, Conservative Action Alerts, and EPAAbuse.com. Additionally her writing can be found in numerous newspapers and websites.

Here's how Marita explains it...

Our partnership with researcher Christine Lakatos has been one of our most popular initiatives. Together we’ve done the most thorough expose on the Obama Administration’s green-energy crony-corruption scandal. Marita has written eighteen specific columns based on Lakatos’ research as presented on her blog entitle The Green Corruption Files — which is funded as a project of CARE. Our cooperative efforts have drawn the attention of Rush Limbaugh. His 2012 December Limbaugh Letter cited our list of failed green-energy companies and linked to The Green Corruption Files.

Besides Marita's extremely valuable and far-reaching exposure, The Green Corruption Files has been featured or cited at The Daily Caller, Fox Nation, GOP USA, Hawaii Free Press, Frontpage.com, Institute for Energy Research, Real Clear Energy, California Political News and Views, Blogcritics Magazine as well as USAActionNews.com. While we've gained traction across the Internet –– even places and publications you'd least expect –– Green Corruption has also been featured at organizations like the Patriot Action Network, Tea Party.org, and American c2c. (NOTE: most of these can be found on the side panel here on my blog site.)

Our collaboration has prompted quite a few high-profiled interviews which include The Daily Caller (March 31, 2012), The American Free Press (May 25, 2013), The Rodger Hedgecock Show (May 28, 2013, Marita live in the studio, but on Rodgers several times), and African American Conservatives (June 11, 2013).

Check out Marita's June 2013 Newsletter to learn more, and her list of audio recordings on the Green Corruption scandal as well as her expertise on energy issues in general. You can also find us both tweeting at @energyrabbit and @calfit32, as well as sharing on Facebook.

Two women –– a citizen & an energy columnist –– join forces on one mission: to expose one chunk of the Green Corruption Scandal at a time.

Our deepest appreciation goes out to the support of buddies like Bamboo Bob, our families' encouragement (even the liberal ones), and others that have helped this cause either by listening to my ranting, or visiting, reading, sharing, publishing, and financing our work.

Moreover, due to the financial support of Marita Noon's organization C.A.R.E. and a few direct donors, we were able to embark on this important work; however, we are still seeking donors, because there is much more to unleash, including updating the long list of clean-energy failures. At the end of 2012, I calculated that as many as 50 Obama-backed green energy companies were bankrupt or troubled, but I have since tracked more.

President Obama's recent pick of John Podesta as his "executive power czar" means that we can expect an aggressive green agenda to move forward at lightening speed. Podesta ran Obama’s presidential transition team and is the founder of the left-wing think tank, Center for American Progress CAP, where he is currently Chair of CAP and the CAP Action Fund. CAP. It's important to point out that CAP has a major foothold inside the Obama administration –– not only did a squadron of CAP experts work with president Obama's transition team, they are “reportedly highly influential in helping to craft White House Policy.” And while, we have divulged many times that CAP is a driving force inside this clean-energy scheme as well as "Podesta Power," we have yet to divulge the entire CAP portion.  

We also have yet to unleash the Department of Energy's Dirt Dozen; additional junk loans and cronyism; the SolarCity scam; revisiting the auto loans; lack of DOE accountability and transparency, and more. Furthermore, with the Green Bank of Obama ready to dole out more taxpayer money, we're ready to track and report on which companies or projects are chosen as winners.

Final thoughts....

As I warned in 2010...

Alarmingly, our environment has been hijacked by uber-rich individuals, crooked politicians, and an assortment of left wing extremists who are fueled by greed and power attached to a radical agenda to bring about “global governance,” “redistribute the wealth,” and put the progressive movement –– big government, social justice and the death of capitalism –– on the fast track. Under the guise of “saving the planet,” these players, who are all interconnected in a variety of ways, are transforming our climate into something more sinister –– a scam of epic proportions.

Wake up America; we've been robbed!

What's most frustrating –– downright outrageous ––  is that the "green corruption" suspects (and this entire money laundering scam) have escaped any repercussions, so we can anticipate that  clean-energy dirt will continue to surface. And, we must endure in our efforts to expose the eco-radicals, hypocrites, corrupt politicians, special interest groups, lobbyists, as well as the ultra-wealthy that enjoy special political access and influence, and all those behind (and whom financially benefit from) the Obama administration's massive, deceptive and expensive green energy agenda.

SPECIAL NOTE: Without funding (or commitments) by the end of December, sadly, this will be final post. Thanks, -c